New Trailer for Laika's KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

While I wasn't necessarily on the Coraline train, I jumped on the Laika bandwagon with 2012's ParaNorman and have been excited to see what more they have to offer ever since. That late August, but fully fall-inspired release was an experience I didn't see coming and that it took me by such pleasant surprise is one that I'll never forget and am eager to re-live each Halloween. I was somewhat disappointed in 2014's The Boxtrolls in that I didn't mind it, but ParaNorman was always going to be a tough act to follow and it seemed Boxtrolls couldn't even compete if it wanted to. That said, I'm very much looking forward to this years late August offering after getting an extended look at the gorgeous visuals in this latest trailer. The film tells of Kubo who lives a quiet, normal life in a small village until a spirit from the past turns his life upside down by re-igniting an age-old vendetta. This, of course, causes all sorts of havoc as gods and monsters chase Kubo who, in order to survive, must locate a magical suit of armor once worn by his late father, a legendary Samurai warrior. While the trailer is heavy on visual splendor we glean little of the actual plot and I really dig that. Laika and Focus Features are selling their product purely on the promise of an adventure unlike any other and the beautiful splendor of their combined stop motion and computer animation. The inventiveness looks to be notched up to eleven here and while Finding Dory, Zootopia, and The Secret Life of Pets all look and sound promising this may be the animated movie I'm most excited to see this year. Kubo and the Two Strings features the voice work of Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Ralph Fiennes, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro and opens on August 19th, 2016.

Synopsis: An epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Akihiro (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny.